


Defect

by HanaHimus



Category: Kikaider
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Androids, Anti-Hero, Fights, Gen, Memories, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Character Death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-01
Updated: 2019-03-11
Packaged: 2019-10-20 09:15:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17619647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HanaHimus/pseuds/HanaHimus
Summary: Waking up without a clue where he was and memories that didn't seem to be his were enough to send Saburo on the trail of the only thread that seemed to be connecting everything. Kikaider.Though his hunt for answers (and the destruction of his brother unit), wasn't about to stay so simple.





	1. Re-Awakening

**Author's Note:**

> Finishes one Kikaider-related muliti-chapter fic. Immediately starts another because I didn't have much exucse to write my fave in the last one.
> 
> Anyway... A Saburo-centric fic from me? Shocking, I know. /s
> 
> Either way, I have some plans I'm excited for with this fic, and I'm excited to write it! That doesn't mean I'm against some feedback, though, haha. Feedback always makes me even more excited, winkwink.

The first thought he has is about how much his head hurts, the second one is wondering if that’s even possible. There’s a human brain within his head, that much was true, but could it hurt? It was hard for Saburo to know much of how he was supposed to work. After everything that happened to him, it was nearly impossible.

That was right, what had happened to him... Gil hadn’t had an issue turning on him the first sign of trouble and he’d lost his arm and head because of it. So how was he lying here, in the middle of a clearing, clearly alive? It made no sense…

He began wracking his memory banks for any sign or explanation of how he was here or why. Any sort of clue that could tell him what was going on. What he found instead, just left him more confused than before.

Memories that he couldn’t place as having happened were thrown into his own, none of them complete and many of them fuzzy. Names and faces he didn’t recognize popped up as he tried to recall every piece he could, none of them sticking as someone he should know.

_ Rieko. _ Why had the voice coming from his body in the memory claimed he created her? Saburo had never created anything, no, not when he was good for destroying. He wouldn’t have made an android that looked so  _ frail. _

_ Bijinder.  _ What kind of android was that, made for spying? Why had he agreed to work with her for his own interests (what were those interests, why couldn’t he remember)? He’d never been the type to work with others, especially ones who relied on tricks to keep the enemies weaker, instead of using them to ensure the best possible fight.

_ Kikaider 01. _ The name should have brought along some feeling of family, but nothing about the memories placed him as someone Saburo would call brother. The only thought he could find himself agreeing with was the the one that he was annoying. That was at least how the memory made him seem.

_ Kikaider 00. _ Not much was different with this one, the same lack of a familial connection… Though it made his artificial skin crawl, this time. Two Kikaiders, who he should feel some sort of connection to, and there was  _ nothing  _ like that in the memories. Not past a base level hatred.

That didn’t mean these memories that didn’t seem to be his own came without someone that had that kind of connection. But that only unsettled him even more. Whoever’s memories these were, they were a  _ parent. _

_ Akira and Rumi. _ Twins, very clearly marked in the memory as being children to whoever this mystery source of memories was… Children and tools, used to further their gains in whatever ways possible. It made Saburo want to gag, reminded him of his own relationship with Gil in a way.

But not one of these faces or these fractured memories helped him. Not one was a clue to how he’d ended up here, head intact. No, the only lead he had was a thread that ran through the other memories as well, stringing things together.

Kikaider was still very much within them, and so maybe the answer lied with him. Fine by Saburo, he would have wanted to find him either way. This was just a reason to do that sooner than before… Just a look around the area to see if there was a clue and he’d be on his way to the nearest city.

It would be easier to find a lead towards his brother in a city, after all.

Soon enough, he was standing from the hard dirt and leaves, brushing himself off with a huff. It seemed like a tranquil forest, nothing odd going on… Which made him being here all the stranger. He’d expect at least some signs of a battle or machinery to be alongside him.

The idea of someone like him going down without a fight in any situation wasn’t a welcome one. Especially not after last time.

When he was sure he’d only find unpleasant feelings, he started off, trying to make note of anything about himself that was different. That could lead to a clue or two as well, if he was lucky. The only real change he found, however, was a dagger sheathed at his side. In the same area Hakaider Shot sat when he was in his battle form.

He looked it over, pausing for a moment. New, but not unwelcome. More ways to attack could be useful, as long as this could do anything against a machine. He might have to try it, given the chance arose before he made it to his dear brother.

He placed it back in this sheath, moving again with a small whistle. The tune wasn’t the same eerie one he usually whistled, but there was no point in using that one. There was no Kikaider around to make go berserk, after all. It was just to fill some dead air.

Well, maybe not dead air, but he’d never been the most keen on the sounds of nature. He’d much rather listen to his own whistle than the chirping of birds or the rustling of leaves, given the choice.

He continued along, trying his best to block out the sounds and focus on what he did know… Excluding whatever those weird memories could tell him, of course. He wouldn’t trust anything that wasn’t his own… For all he knew there were some sort of residual memories of his creator’s. The only thing that’d be worse than that would be Gil’s.

God, the sooner he could get back to the sounds of a city or, well, anything that wasn’t chirpy, the better.

Luckily for him, he soon enough emerged from the trees, now in front of what looked to be a road. He was about to think he’d have to hitchhike, hope no idiots tried to slam into him only to find their cars destroyed, when he noticed something off to the side. Familiar and helpful.

White Crow, his bike, thrown to the side like garbage. That pissed him off a bit, but it didn’t even look scratched. As long as it still ran alright, he’d have a way to transport himself faster. The faster he could move, the sooner he’d find Kikaider.

He stood it up and hopped on with one last whistle. He still felt right at home on its seat, though maybe that was what happened when the bike was made specifically for your mechanical body.

He revved the engine a few times, trying to test it. When White Crow fulling roared to life, he was happy enough to give it a test ride. Hopefully it wouldn’t give out on him now.

With one last deep breathe, he took off, towards the nearest city. He was going to find Kikaider and get his answers.


	2. Greetings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in one, er, morning...? Because I gd love Saburo and can't stop when I get goin sometimes lmaoooo
> 
> Also, Rumi (from the Kikaider manga/mentioned in the first chapter) appears in this chapter. She has such a minimal role in the overall story, tho, that I didn't feel right taggin her.

Saburo, now in the city, was more than a bit annoyed. He hadn’t been here long and people were already blowing him off or staring at him in confusion when he tried to explain who he was looking for. He was even sure to be casual about it.

_ “He’s about this tall, his hair is dark and there’s sunglasses on top of his head. He wears an outfit that’s basically denim…”  _ His description wasn’t anything that a human couldn’t keep up with… But the replies were always the same.

_ “I don’t have time to help you find half the city.” _

_ “I’m sorry, I don’t think I’ve seen anyone who looks even a little like that.” _

_ “You looking for a guy like that? You and me both, buddy.” _

It just made him want to yell at them, give them a perfect description, see if they acted like that then. But no, that’d just make the weird looks more common and the blowing off a constant. This just wasn’t working out for him…

He needed a picture or something. The question was where could he get one? It wasn’t like photos of Jiro were laying around (and a pencil and paper was just about as unlikely)... He might have to be creative about this.

Eventually, he decided to take a stick to some dirt in the first park he found. He could draw Jiro’s face in it and drag people here to look! Sure, it might be a bit unorthodox, but it was better than nothing… And he had to say, his drawing was looking better than he was expecting.

“There.” He took a step back, grinning down at the image. “Now I just have to--”

Before he could even turn away, a little girl fell right into the image and Saburo could feel all his hard work going down the drain. He was about ready to yell at the little brat for ruining it (and for showing him just how flawed this plan really was), when she stood and turned to him.

“I’m sorry, Mister!” She bowed deeply, but Saburo was having trouble focusing on her words. “I didn’t mean to ruin your drawing, it looks kind of like…”

Soon enough her words were rolling right off him, only one word escaping his own lips. “Rumi.”

“Huh?” She looked up at him, fear clear on her face. “H-how do you know my name?”

He rose a hand to his mouth, grimacing. “I… I don’t know your name!”

“But you just said it…” She took a few steps back, the fear growing. “S-stay away from me…!”

He didn’t try to stop her when she ran off crying. Let her tell whoever her guardian was that he was a dangerous man and keep him away. As long as he couldn’t pinpoint whose memories these were, it’d be better for her that way. Actually, it might be better that way always.

He turned on his heel, exiting the park in case the girl dragged her babysitter right to him. Looked like he needed to change tactics.

\--

Hanpei Hattori was starting to see how hard it could be to be a detective. Any of the few cases he got that paid he was able to solve easily enough, sure! But the one case he cared about the most was at a total deadend.

He’s come close to Jiro once, but he’d slipped right through his fingers, the trail now cold once again. Etsuko tried to tell him it wasn’t something he should beat himself up over, wasn’t like he had all the time to focus on just this. They needed to keep the lights on, after all.

He knew she was right, but that didn’t make it sting any less. If there was one thing Hanpei wanted to do with his career, it was to find Jiro. If there was any time to do it, it was now…!

“Maybe I’m just washed up…” He let out a sigh, kicking an empty can out of his way. “I just can’t find ‘em like I used to…”

“Well, I would hope that’s not the case when I need you to sniff out Kikaider for me,  _ Mister Detective. _ ” 

His blood ran cold as a familiar voice hit his ears and his entire body froze. He tried to will himself into moving, walking along as if he hadn’t heard a word, maybe dash off after a minute… But he couldn’t get his legs to move even a step.

“What’s wrong? Are you deaf?” He came into his view at that point, moving to stand in front of him. “I said I need you to sniff out Kikaider.”

“Y-y-you!” Hanpei took a step back finally, voice shaking despite the fact he kept himself steady. “Hakaider.”

“Now, now…” He chuckled, taking a step towards him. “Call me Saburo when I look like this. It’s only polite you use the right name for your client.”

Hanpei swallowed hard. “Who’s to say I’ll actually take on your case?”

Saburo’s expression darkened. “If you don’t take it, I’ll kill you.”

“...T-that’s proof enough. To my office then.” Maybe he could think of a way out of this on the way there.

\--

Saburo flopped down onto the couch in Hanpei’s office, a smile now fixed on his face. He got lucky, finding this detective again. He knew exactly what Saburo could do and knew exactly what Jiro looked like… It made his job in all of this a lot easier.

A woman was there too, staring at him, confusion clear on her face. “Who is this, boss?”

“J… Just another client, Etsuko. How about you put on some coffee?” Hanpei cleared his throat, sitting across from Saburo. “So, you want me to find Mister Jiro…?”

He nodded. “Exactly. I need you to find Kikaider for me. We have unfinished business and I have questions for him.”

“Can you give me more information?” Hanpei did his best to keep himself calm. “When was the last time you saw him?”

He closed his eyes, pushing the odd memories out of his mind. “In the DARK base. When I was too distracted with destroying him to notice Gil turning on me.”

The Etsuko woman dropped a cup with a clatter at that point, staring at Saburo, eyes wide. He looked over at her and flashed her a grin, just enough to make her hurry to bend down and pick up the cup, looking away. Good, this had nothing to do with her.

He turned back to Hanpei. “That’s about all the information I have. I have no clue where he went after that.”

Hanpei hummed, eyes closed. “That so… Well, you see, then we have a problem. I’ve been hunting down Mister Jiro on my own for a while now, and I’m at a bit of a roadblock. If you don’t have more information for me, I don’t think this is going to go any faster than it currently is.”

Saburo narrowed his eyes. “That so?”

“Afraid so…” Hanpei opened his eyes again, giving Saburo a serious look. “This’ll be moving at a snail’s pace, I’m afraid.”

“Well, make it your top priority and pick up the pace, alright?” He reached for the dagger at his side. “I’m not exactly the most patient client.”

Hanpei’s serious expression changed to one of fear. “U-uh--”

“Boss!” Etsuko called over to them. “Can you come over here and help me? I think the coffee maker is broken!”

\--

“This guy is definitely bad news, why are you helping him, is he threatening you?” Etsuko’s first words to Hanpei were a whisper before she suddenly raised her voice. “I don’t think it’s brewing the coffee correctly! Do you see anything wrong with it?”

“He is threatening me, yeah… And trust me, he’s got everything he needs to back up the threat…” Hanpei began looking over the coffee pot, faking interest in seeing is something was broken with extreme vigor as he spoke. “And I don’t want you or me getting hurt, so it looks like I gotta take his case…”

“Isn’t there a way we can get out of this?”

“Not as long as he’s sitting there, no. We can’t brainstorm when he can walk over at any minute.” He straightened up, raising his voice as Etsuko had before. “I’m not seeing anything, you sure it’s broken?”

“Sure as I can be, boss!” She frowned and lowered her voice again. “Then why don’t we give him a false lead. One that’ll keep him out of our hair for a few days so we can figure out what to do.”

“I’m not sure that’s the best idea… He might catch on and come back angrier and meaner than he already is…” Hanpei shivered. “That thought alone is terrifying…”

“I guess you have a point… But do we really wanna lead him to someone as nice as Jiro?” Etsuko couldn’t help but have some reservations about this. It just seemed… Wrong.

“...No, we don’t, but I’m not sure we have much of a choice.” Hanpei grimaced. “We’ll just have to hope Mister Jiro is able to fight him off when he gets to him.”

“Hey!” The man glared at them, though Etsuko swore the glare was directed more at her. “Less with the coffee, more with the discussing how to find Kikaider.”

Etsuko cleared her throat. “Don’t mind me, I’ll figure this out on my own. You go talk to our client.”

Hanpei shot her a worried glance, but nodded. “Y… Yeah, I’ll do that.” After straightening his back, he turned back to their no-good client. “Now, where were we…?”


	3. Encounters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A third chapter in what is techincally one day? Wrow

“So… I’ll be putting more resources towards finding Mister Jiro.” Hanpei cleared his throat, looking away from Saburo. It was hard to look him in the eye, even when his eyes were covered with shades. “Mind if you give Etsuko and I some time to discuss exactly what resources?”

“Why do you need to discuss that?” Saburo crossed his arms. “Put all the resources towards finding Kikaider as quickly as possible.”

“Well, you see, some of them need to stay towards us staying open. If we close up shop, we won’t be able to find Mister Jiro…” He scratched his cheek. “We have to figure out just how much we need to put to the side to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“I’ll make sure boss puts as much as he can towards finding your…” Etsuko trailed off.

“Brother.”

“Towards finding your brother.” Etsuko nodded, arms crossed. “But it’ll be easier for us to hash it out without you sitting there, watching us.”

Saburo frowned, staring at Etsuko for an uncomfortably long time. Hanpei was about ready to try and step in when he finally stood up and turned towards the door.

“Fine. I’ll give you a half hour to talk about it. Don’t think about running off, I’ll be hanging around the building and I’ll know.” He glanced back at Hanpei. “And I’ll get the last say in how much you put towards Kikaider.”

“Sure, sure…” Hanpei had a feeling they’d never agree on just how much he put towards that, but maybe it wouldn’t hurt to try. “Go get some fresh air, might make you feel better.”

“Doubt that.” With that, he walked out the door and left the two of them to discuss things without the risk of him listening in.

“Sir…” Etsuko sat across from him. “What are we going to do?”

“The only thing we can do. Figure out how much time we can have for actual paying cases while keeping Saburo happy.” Hanpei leaned back into his seat. “This is gonna be a headache…”

 

\--

 

Saburo felt like he was about to be strung along by Hanpei and he didn’t like it. The first sign of the detective stringing him along, though, and he’d put him back in his place  _ quickly _ . He hoped he realized that when Saburo gave him a half-hour to discuss things with that assistant of his.

He didn’t want to spend too much time making sure things went his way when everything was eating at him like this. It wore his patience thinner than it already was.

...And he was sure that wouldn’t be good for anyone.

He leaned against the building with a huff. The longer he went on being awake, the more things ate at him. It didn’t help that he’d seen that Rumi girl earlier, making the stranger memories harder to suppress as long as he had no direct line to Kikaider.

As soon as he had a good thread to follow, he would feel better, he was sure. 

“Excuse me.” A man approached him, a forced (and almost mechanical) smile on his face. “Do I know you?”

Saburo looked him over, looking through his memory bank once again. Nothing in his own memories and (thankfully) nothing in the other ones, either. “No, you don’t know me.”

“Oh, but I’m sure I do.” Saburo was starting to note how stilted this man’s voice was. “You’re looking for… Kikaider.”

That put him on edge, pulling him away from the wall. “Oh yeah? Where’d you hear that?”

“That is your only purpose, is it not?” A head tilt as the forced smile grew. “Finding Kikaider, no matter the risk, to destroy him.”

Saburo’s brow furrowed. “How do you know so much?”

“That doesn’t matter, Mister Hakaider.” He raised his leg and tried to drive it into Saburo’s side. “All that matters is I stop you.”

Saburo grabbed the man by the collar, driving his fist into his face and expecting him to go down. Despite his awkwardness, he was expecting the man to be some sort of human assassin, trying to throw him off his game. A simple punch should be enough to remove any organic threat…

But his fist met metal, a clang ringing out. This man wasn’t a human, but some sort of android. Nothing as advanced as Jiro, if the way he acted and moved was anything to go off of, but more of a threat than a human, nonetheless.

The android stumbled back a few steps before straightening back up and coming at Saburo again, driving his fist into Saburo’s gut. If Saburo’s metal body had been any weaker, a dent would have been left. It sure still was enough to throw him off.

The android wasted no time trying to bring a foot down on top of his head. Saburo dove to the side, taking the foot to the shoulder instead. It  _ hurt _ , in a way that he didn’t realize a wound could hurt someone like him… This thing was serious about getting rid of him.

He stood again, grasping his shoulder for a moment before throwing a kick of his own into the arm of the android. Once again, it stumbled, but it didn’t slow its approach this time. A one track mind, huh? Saburo didn’t like that that was a familiar mindset.

He was on Saburo again, pushing him to the ground with as much force as the kicks and hits before. It was starting to seem like it might actually not be possible for Saburo to pull himself out of this when he remembered something.

Might as well see what this dagger at his side could do.

Pulling it free with his right hand, he drove it into the shoulder of the android, like a knife slicing through butter.  _ Excellent _ . 

He drew it down the rest of the way, slicing the arm off as if it was nothing. With that, he pushed the android off of himself and was standing again. Being able to throw him off kilter was all that was needed to make sure this went Saburo’s way.

He drove the dagger into the other arm, removing it wish more ease than the last. He could get used to this thing…

Wasting no time, he drove it into the android’s chest, pushing him to the ground. “Who told you about me? Who sent you?”

The android gave a robotic laugh, eye twitching as Saburo dug the dagger farther into the chest and into some sort of circuit. “You can’t think you’re the only one with interest in the mechanical man known as Kikaider.”

He put his face next to the android’s, sneering. “That doesn’t tell me  _ who _ sent you.” Though it could be helpful to know why, but it didn’t do much good when he didn’t know who he was dealing with.

“Our group will find him before you do…” The twitching extended to his mouth as Saburo once again drove the dagger deeper. “If you continue to chase him and destroy us, things will only get worse for you.”

“A group, huh…?” Saburo had a feeling he wouldn’t get anything else of use from this piece of scrap metal, so he dragged his weapon down, through the rest of the chest, watching sparks fly out of the wound.

The android tried to speak again, but nothing coherent escaped, body jerking. The useless thing finally stopped moving when Saburo stood… Another group after Kikaider, one that saw his own goals as a threat, huh?

If they really saw him as a threat, he was sure this android wouldn't be alone. Things were about to get a lot messier.


	4. Clash

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'nother chapter.

Hanpei had wasted no time rushing outside at the sound of metal on metal, thoughts going directly to the thought that it was Jiro and Saburo. An idea that was just as concerning as it was relieving for him. Jiro being here would mean he’d finally found him and Saburo would leave him alone! But if Saburo had the upper hand…

The very thought made him feel sick.

“Hanpen!” Saburo’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts, a bad feeling settling into his gut as the cyborg pulled up on his bike. “I’ll be back later, luck you, you have more time to decide what to do.”

So that meant, if Jiro had indeed shown up here, that Jiro was alright! But wait… Had he rushed off and Saburo was planning on chasing him? Did Saburo have so little faith in his ability to catch him that he thought he’d need Hanpei’s help still?

“Hey, are you listening to me?!” Saburo was frowning at him now. “I said if you need any scrap metal, now’s the time to check the alleyway. Be careful about wild electrical sparks, though.”

Before Hanpei could ask for an explanation, Saburo sped off down the road, leaving Hanpei in the dust. Maybe Jiro hadn’t been here, then… But if that was the case, what did Saburo mean by scrap metal…?

Without any other clue, he headed for the alleyway, peeking down it first in case this was some cruel joke… And laying there was the body of an android, not one that looked anything like Jiro thankfully.

But it also made things click in Hanpei’s head. Were there more androids like this out there? If there were, who were they interested in, him or Saburo? Either way, he needed to keep himself hot on the cyborg’s trail! Partially to figure it out and partially to keep both he and Etsuko safe (he was sure his assistant would be left alone if he wasn’t with her, after all).

Without a second thought, he rushed to his car. If he got moving fast enough, he could catch up to Saburo in no time…!

Or, he could if his car wasn’t a  _ piece of junk that never worked when he needed it to! _ He slammed his hand on the steering wheel when it refused to actually start. “Come on! Now isn’t the time for this…!”

 

\--

 

Saburo liked something about riding White Crow. Being able to be on the road, wind against his face, let him forget for a while that he was just a tool for humans. Had Komyoji made him to feel like that about riding, he wondered? He wasn’t sure, but he decided against thinking into it too much. It was one of the few things he enjoyed other than the hunt with Kikaider, he didn’t want to ruin it.

Especially not when it was getting his non-existent adrenaline pumping. He looked over his shoulder, a black car following after him. It’d started following after him shortly after he’d taken off, telling him that it was more of the same.

Fine by him, when he got far enough away, he’d show them why messing with him was a horrible idea. Might keep them from coming after him again after this. The less between him and Kikaider, the better.

He continued to drive; no one in the car had made a move towards him, so why not get as far as he could? He wanted plenty of room to be destructive about this. Maybe a clearing where whoever was in charge would get a good view of what they were messing with.

...If they were anything like Gil, they’d have some sort of camera following, after all.

Soon enough a clearing was in view. There was a house as well, but it was far enough in the distance that it didn’t matter much. Besides, it seemed abandoned to him. What did he have to worry about seeing him, cobwebs?

He came to a screeching halt, hopping off of White Crow and dashing into the clearing, turning to face whoever came at him. From the car came two androids, both wasting no time running at him. No talking this time, then? Fine by him.

He wasted no time shedding his human appearance to allow for his more battle-ready form. Hakaider was about to make it clear to these androids that he wasn’t someone they could stop easily.

The first one was upon him, throwing a punch towards his head. He held up his own hands, grabbing them by the wrist and tossing them to the side. The other drove their foot into his back before he could turn back to them, knocking him to the ground.

He rolled out of the way as one of them tried to drive their foot into the glass dome giving him life. Hakaider pulled Hakaider Shot from his side, shooting the leg of one off as he jumped up. He shot again as they fell, making sure to pierce the head.

It twitched on the ground as he drove his foot into the chest, denting it beyond recognition. When he was sure it was down for the count, he turned to the other one. They were just staring, watching, perhaps studying him?

If whoever in charge was thinking that gathering data would make it easier to defeat him, they were going to be disappointed. It’d take more than knowing how he moved to take him down, after all.

He pointed Hakaider Shot at the android with a chuckle. “That’s enough for now.”

With that, he pulled the trigger, the beam going right through the chest and sending the android into jerks and glitches. With a stomp on their head, he was sure this one was done for, too. That had gone faster than he expected, good.

 

\--

 

Masaru had been trying to keep himself busy outside when he heard what sounded like battle. He knew he probably shouldn’t follow the sounds, but the very thought that it might be Jiro… It made him ignore that and sent him running towards it.

What he saw just filled him with fear.

Two androids, broken on the ground. The only one standing wasn’t an android, but a cyborg; one that Masaru knew was dangerous. Hakaider was only spoken about in a hushed whisper with his family for a reason, after all.

Panic seized him and, without thinking, he picked up a nearby stick and went running at Hakaider with a yell. Hakaider barely had time to turn to face him before he was whapping him with the stick over and over. He didn’t even stop when it broke.

Hakaider leaned over, picking him up by the back of his shirt, ripping the stick from his hands. “You’re one of the Komyoji brats, aren’t you?”

“Let me go! I won’t let you hurt me or Mitsuko!” He began squirming, to no avail. “Put me down!”

Hakaider leveled his gun at Masaru. “I don’t think so.”

Masaru felt his blood run cold and he closed his eyes tight, bracing for the worst...


	5. Tense

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaand another chapter

“Hakaider, put the gun down!” Hanpei’s voice pulled Hakaider out of his current thoughts of weighing the options of killing and just scaring the Komyoji brat. “Don’t hurt young Masaru, it’s not worth it!”

Hakaider let Hakaider Shot hang by his side as he eyed Hanpei. “What makes you think you can tell me what to do?”

“You want me to help you find Mister Jiro, don’t you?! I don’t care if you kill me for it, but if you hurt Masaru, I’ll refuse to do anything for you!” He looked pretty serious about the exclamation. Impressive, for a coward.

“That so?” He pointed the gun towards Hanpei. “Maybe I’ll kill you first, then. I’m sure your assistant can make do without you.”

He went pale at that, looked like Hakaider found a weak point. “I-I still won’t let you hurt Masaru!”

“Let me down!” Masaru squirmed in Hakaider’s grip. “Let me go!”

Hakaider looked back to the boy, Hakaider Shot still trained on Hanpei. “Give me one good reason to. You’re sure to attack me again if I put you down.”

“Why wouldn’t I?! You’re dangerous! Dad and Mitsuko say so!” He continued trying to free himself to no avail. “I gotta protect Mitsuko.”

A scoff as he placed his gun back in its holster. “You think someone as puny as you could do any real damage to me?”

“I… I’m not sure, but I gotta at least try!” Masaru frowned at him, clearly forcing his lower lip to not quiver.

“Really?” Hakaider let out a laugh. “Is it genetic, then? Your father’s idiocy?”

“Don’t talk about my dad like that!” Masaru finally turned towards more violent means to try and get away, kicking him in the leg. “Evil robots like you can’t talk about my dad like that!”

“You really think an evil robot cares what you think?”

Masaru frowned at him, tears in his eyes as Hakaider’s words settled in. “...L-let me go…!”

 

\--

 

Mitsuko was worried when Masaru didn’t come home when she called out for him. Worried enough that she couldn’t help but put her shoes and coat on, making her way through the clearing. When there was no sign of him near their home, she moved towards what looked to be a couple figures in the distance.

At first, she was just planning on asking if the strangers had seen Masaru, but when she was close enough to actually see what was going on a gasp escaped her. Without a second thought, she went running at Hakaider, gripping his arm with her hands.

“Let go of Masaru!” She could feel herself growing fearful as she tugged on his arm. “If you’re going to hurt someone, hurt me! Masaru is just a boy!”

“Mitsuko!” Hanpei moved to her side, trying to pull her back. “Either of you getting hurt right now won’t do any good!”

“But he has Masaru!” She looked at him, fighting back tears. “I have to do something!”

“He’s been calming down! He just put his gun away!” Hanpei finally pulled her away from Hakaider. “I promise I won’t let anything happen to him.”

“Are you two done now?” Hakaider looked at them, his red eye’s piercing. “I’ve decided I won’t do anything to this brother of yours on one condition.”

Mitsuko swallowed hard, squaring her shoulders. “And what is that…?”

“You answer some questions I have about Kikaider.”

The mention of Jiro made her heart ache. She hadn’t seen him in so long, she had no way of knowing if he was alright or not… She closed her eyes, sucking in a deep breath to keep herself calm.

“Fine… But I expect you to explain why there are broken androids on our property as well.”

Masaru was thrown at Mitsuko as Hakaider shifted from battle form to human form. “Works for me, but I can’t tell you much.”

Mitsuko held her brother close to her as she glared at Saburo. “If I find out you’re withholding anything from me--”

“You’ll do nothing.” Saburo smirked and she wanted to slap it right off his face. “Not much a human can do against a cyborg.”

She knew he was right and it made her fume. “...Let’s go to the house. Standing around here won’t do us any good.”

 

\--

 

“So you’re telling me you haven’t seen Kikaider recently?” Saburo could feel his annoyance bubbling up as he stared Mitsuko down. “What, have you been living under a rock? There’s no way he could stay away from someone like you.”

“We were overseas until recently… My father was recovering from…” She trailed off, but Saburo didn’t need her to finish the statement.

“The old man had to get used to having a brain in his head again, right?” he didn’t like talking about it, so a nod was enough to make him move on. “How long ago did you get back?”

“Not long ago at all.” Mitsuko shook her head. “In fact, we’ve been home for less than a week, preparing the house for when father comes home himself.”

Saburo frowned at her. “...So there’s a chance Kikaider came by here while you were gone?”

“I… I guess so.” Mitsuko gripped her skirt, her frown making it clear how unhappy she was with Saburo. “But don’t think you can just wait here for him! I won’t let you hurt Jiro.”

“You think you’d be able to stop me, then?” He tilted his head to the side. “I don’t understand humans like you.”

Mitsuko blinked. “Excuse me?”

“You say that like you can do anything to me. What makes you think you could stop me from hurting my brother?”

“I…” Mitsuko bit her lip and Saburo was sure she didn’t have an answer. “I’m not sure, but I’ll find a way.”

“Sure you will.” He shook his head. “For now, all that matters is neither of us know where Kikaider is or how to find him.”

“That’s true…” Mitsuko looked at her hands, clasping them together in her lap. “I suppose that means it's time for you to give me answers.”

“Oh, about those androids, right?” Saburo shrugged. “They’re from some group that’s after Kikaider, too. And they want me out of the way.”

Mitsuko’s brow furrowed. “Would you destroying him cause them issues, then?”

“I guess so.” Saburo sighed. “The android I got information from didn’t say much, Komyoji girl. I just know that I’m asking for a target on my back by continuing on.”

“Then why keep doing it?” She shook her head. “Why put yourself in danger?”

He thought for a moment, how did he explain this to a human? “If you were looking for Kikaider would you stop just because I threatened you?”

“I…” She blinked. “I guess I wouldn’t.”

“Then that’s because of your feelings towards him, right?” He grinned. “Same thing, my feelings towards him just aren’t pleasant.”

Mitsuko closed her eyes, taking in a breath before standing up. “I think we’re done here, then.”

 

\--

 

Saburo hadn’t wanted to head back to the city, not quite yet. Heading back wouldn’t do him much good when Hanpei was staying with the Komyojis for the night, anyway. He couldn’t make any progress on his own without a visual, after all…

So he found himself an empty room to lay in for the night. One where he didn’t see Mitsuko and she didn’t see him. It seemed like it’d be better for both of them if they didn’t have to see each other.

At this point, he was sure they were all asleep… Humans were usually asleep around nine when not living in a city, right? That meant he was going to be alone with his thoughts, and oh how he dreaded that right now.

Every time he let his guard down, things started hitting him harder than he’d like to admit. All he could think to do to drown out the thoughts was whistle, focusing on the sound instead of anything else.

At least until he heard footsteps near the entrance of the room. He stopped his whistling, sitting up with a frown. “Who’s out there?”

Masaru peeked into the room, caught red-handed. “I-I was curious when I heard whistling…”

“Bet you’re disappointed to see who it was, then.” He laid back down onto the couch he’d made his bed. “Go away, before your sister yells at me for talking to you.”

“B.. But…” Masaru stepped into the room instead. “Did dad make you to be musical too…?”

“What are you talking about?”

“D-dad made Jiro and that Ichiro guy musical because he likes music…” Masaru shrunk away from his glare. “I was wondering if he did the same with you.”

“No. I was built with ability in order to keep ahead of Kikaider. It works like Gil’s flute worked.” He shook his head, turning away from Masaru.

“But would it do anything when Jiro isn’t here?”

“...No.”

“Then why are you whistling?” Masaru’s voice was hesitant and curious. “It makes it seem like dad made you to be musical…”

“He didn’t.” His voice was tense. “Go. Away.”

Masaru said nothing else (thankfully, as far as Saburo was concerned), and soon enough he was alone again. Now left with thoughts… Had Komyoji made him inclined towards the musical with his whistling…?

No, that was ridiculous.


	6. Gloom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while, but I'm alive. I was on a bit of a Megaten kick again there and then I finished my rewatch of the anime and wrote the rest of this while crying about Saburo.

Saburo had become too restless to stay in one room the entire night, so when he was certain all the humans had retired for the night, he decided to explore. A look around couldn’t hurt, after all, especially when it might give him a path to Kikaider.

At first, not much stood out to him. It was fairly normal for a house (at least, with what little he knew about how houses looked), nothing standing out too much. He looked through some of the books on their shelves, nothing of particular interest…

Maybe the basement would hold something worth looking at. He made his way to the door, opening it slowly in fear it would creak and alert the entire damn house to what he was doing. Thankfully, it was well oiled. 

He made his way down the stairs, a whistle escaping him when he reached the bottle. Looked like Komyoji had had a nice little lab all the way back home, hiding right under DARK’s nose. Looked like it wasn’t just him hiding things, either.

A nice framed picture of Jiro sat among the dusty tools, as if it had just been placed there. Little miss Mitsuko had been trying to keep this away from him, huh? Too bad for her, he’d still found it and he plans.

Before he took the image, though, he sifted through the materials. Nothing too impressive could be made here, but… He could think of one little trinket to make before heading out once again.

It didn’t take him long to finish it, which meant all that was left to do was find Masaru and plant it with him. A sort of safety net in case he led whatever group that had been attacking him here. He told himself it was simply to make sure there’d be a place to lure Kikaider, with ready bait… Because it was easier to say it was that than even  _ consider  _ Komyoji’s brain having left a residual feeling of care towards Masaru and Mitsuko.

Soon enough, he found Masaru’s bedroom, placing the item in his hand and scrawling a note to go with it.

_ This is a sort of lucky charm, a Death Whistle. Blow it when you’re in danger and I will come to you. _

He turned to the door, glancing back one last time before rushing for the exit. He was going to get whatever information he could out of this image. Surely seeing Jiro’s face would get at least a couple people knowing who he was talking about, right?

One could always hope.

 

\--

 

“So you really haven’t ever seen someone who looks like this?” Saburo frowned at the man in front of him.

He simply rubbed the back of his head and gave a nervous laugh. “Can’t say I have, sorry about that! Good luck finding your friend, though.”

Saburo didn’t thank the man for his well wishes before pushing past him. This was turning out fruitless and it was starting to frustrate him. Someone had to have seen him at some point…!

He walked along, trying to find someone else to speak to when a little boy caught his eye. The memories he wanted to push away told him his name was Akira. Akira might know something about where Jiro was…

“Hey, A-- Little boy!”

Akira turned to look at him, clearly fearful. “Y-yes…?”

He held the image out, kneeling to look him in the eye. “Have you seen a man like this?”

Akira looked at the picture, biting his lip and stepping from side to side. “U-uh… Yes…?”

“When and where did you see him, huh?” He tilted his head to the side, keeping his voice as soft as he could. “I need to find him so if you tell me it’ll be really helpful.”

“Um… It was a year ago, I think.” His voice was quiet as he looked at his feet. “I-I don’t know if I’m allowed to tell you where, though, sorry…”

Saburo frowned, placing a hand on his head. “Why’s that?”

“Uh…” Akira bit his lip and he refused to look Saburo in the eye still. “I don’t have permission to share.”

“...Yeah? Who do you need permission from to share?” He was sure he could convince whoever it was to let Akira spill the beans to him.

Akira shifted where he stood, making little ‘uhs’ and ‘ums’ instead of any sentence. Saburo was about to push him again when a little girl’s gasp drew his and Akira’s attention.

Rumi ran up, holding her brother’s arm. “No, don’t talk to this man! He’s dangerous!”

“H-huh?!” Akira looked at Saburo with wide eyes. “Really…?”

“Don’t listen to her, Akira--”

“H…” He took a step back, Rumi tugging on him. “How do you know my name?”

Shit. He shouldn’t have let that slip out… “Just a lucky guess!”

“I don’t believe you…” Akira shook his head and began backing away more, Rumi following suit. “I-I won’t tell you anything else about him!”

Saburo frowned. “Akira. Tell me what I need to know.”

“I’m not going to…!” He turned around and ran off, Rumi right by his side. 

Dammit…! If he’d gotten to Akira a little faster or been a little more careful about what he said he might have been able to get more information on Jiro. Instead, he walked himself right into yet another dead end, with no way out.

He was almost tempted to give up on all of this. Maybe it was pointless… He’d never thought that  _ he  _ of all people would struggle so hard to find Kikaider, but here he was. No lead and floundering…

For now, he’d just go back to Hanpei’s office and wait for him.

 

\--

 

By the time Saburo got back to Hanpei’s, Hanpei was there and waiting. Based off his expression, Saburo would guess he had some news for him, too. Good. The sooner he had news, the better.

“There you are, Mister Saburo!” Hanpei ran up to him, putting his hands on Saburo’s arms. “I was able to do some digging about those robots that attacked you and who they belong to!”

“Oh yeah?” That piqued his interest. “Who’s that?”

“A group called GLOOM.”

“GLOOM…?” Saburo furrowed his brow and leaned towards him. “If you’re pulling my leg I’m going to kill you.”

“I-I’m not! I swear I’m not, Mister Saburo! It’s the name that came up in the research, you can even ask Etsuko about it, she’ll back me up!”

“So a group called GLOOM is after Kikaider and wants me out of the way, huh?” How stupid did that sound? If he wasn’t in the middle of this, he’d laugh at the very thought of it happening. “...That’s better than nothing.”

He could use this, maybe if he found out more about GLOOM, he could get a pin on Jiro and where he was. The very thought got him excited, a grin coming to his face. This would do well…

“Uh… Mister Saburo?”


	7. Whistle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter this time, but mostly bc I'm thinking the next will be a bit longer to get a lot of info out correctly.

“What else did you find out, Detective?” He leaned towards him. “There has to be some more information about GLOOM… If you haven’t found it yet, I suggest you get a move on.”

“Funny you should say that!” Etsuko approached, a smile on her face. “My boss and I were working on that when you got here. It’s not much, but we know the origin of the group now.”

“Origin?” He rose an eyebrow, frowning. “What do you mean by that?”

“Well, apparently they didn’t just pop up out of nowhere!” Etsuko showed the file she’d printed out to Hanpei, who whistled.

“I’m sure the name DARK is familiar to you, Mister Saburo. Apparently GLOOM here took what was left from that group and another group called SHADOW. Built themselves up from there.”

Saburo, of course, knew of DARK, better than these fools would. But SHADOW rang a certain way in his head that made him grimace. It was like seeing Rumi or Akira, something that rang too familiar in his head.

He gripped it with one hand, grimacing. He’d thought all familiarity those memories brought had been found, and now there was something else? How many things were going to ring eerily familiar for reason? How many of these memories had burrowed into him at some point?

“Mister Saburo…” Hanpei blinked a few times, frowning. “Are you feeling alright--”

He jerked away when Hanpei placed a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t touch me right now!”

This was too much, more was seeping into his head the more he thought about SHADOW. Whoever had had his body… They had ended up teaming up with this group and taken right over. They’d used the group to get…

He felt sick when he saw what they had built and perfected. Gil had been working on that, hadn’t he? The memories were too fuzzy to tell if this thing was their plan originally or not… But he hoped it was the latter. The idea of Gil in his body made him shudder.

In a way, he would say that was worse than Komyoji.

“I’m getting some air.” He turned on his heel, ignoring their questioning calls. If he stuck around them he might hurt them and, well, he couldn’t use broken humans. He needed them to get more information.

He leaned against the building, letting out a shaky sigh. Maybe this was a mistake, maybe assuming Jiro was dead would have been better. But then he wouldn’t have known what to do with himself… He had nothing to do with himself other than carry out what he was made to do.

Robots were puppets, simple enough. They were here to fulfill the roles given to them by selfish humans. Nothing more and nothing less… He was fine with that, he  _ was _ …

So why had he even considered assuming Jiro being dead to be better? These memories were starting to mess with his head. He needed to find his brother before this got all worse. That way he’d either finish his goal or die trying, no need to worry about memories that way…

He was about to take off to do his own digging into where Jiro was to take his mind off things when a whistle filtered into his head. It wasn’t at a frequency any human would pick up on. Hell, he wasn’t sure most machines would catch it. 

It was designed to alert him specifically, after all.

Masaru had used the Death Whistle for some reason, meaning he was in danger. Saburo still didn’t know why he’d decided making that for the boy was a good idea… Maybe it was those memories from a parent, making him soft on children.

Disgusting, but he hopped on White Crow all the same. The machine roared to life and an unsettling feeling settled in his gut. Was this the feeling of worry? There was no way he was worried about the child…

If he cared at all for those Komyojis, it was to lure Kikaider to him. He had no reason to feel anything towards them past their usefulness… But he gripped his handles a bit tighter as he sped towards the home.

If Masaru was just playing with it, he would literally kill him. If he was in trouble, he would do the same but figuratively. How did humans get into so much trouble so quickly?! He hadn’t been gone for more than twelve hours...!

Had more of those GLOOM goons followed and striked when they were sure he wouldn’t be coming back. The very thought of it being his own fault for not being more careful made his stomach churn. He was  _ better  _ than that.

He was the one who was supposed to be one step ahead of the rest.

He gripped the handles, enough that if the White Crow was a normal bike they would break. “Stay safe, you idiots.”


End file.
